>>16309194>>16309668Hogan is the biggest wrestler of all time. WWF expanded to from a New York territory to a national powerhouse off the back of Hogan. Hogan was, back in the 80s, one of the biggest stars in America, on par with stars like Michael Jordan. He was that well known and recognized. Hogan not only was the undisputed king during the boom period of the Golden Era of the mid 80s to early 90s, but Hogan then kicked off a second boom era with his heel turn and formation of the nWo! And Hogan was instrumental in WCW overtaking WWF for 83 weeks.
Steve Austin was a massive star that was a mainstream icon of the late 90s, but he was only a big deal for a short time compared to Hogan. That is why Austin ranks second.
Rock has to come in third, possibly fourth if we include Randy Savage. Rock was always playing second fiddle to Austin. It was Austin that saved the WWF from falling to the WCW, not Rock. And as someone alive back then, Rock's schtick would get old after awhile, then he would go away to film a movie and come back to a big pop. He couldn't sustain the massive crowd reactions in the same way that Austin could. Randy Savage, on the other hand, remained a huge icon even during the Hogan era of the mid 80s to early 90s, and his relevance continued with the Slim Jim campaign. Savage's voice to this day is the most iconic in all of wrestling. But to Rocky's credit, he has been able to return and remain a big star when he did.
John Cena was the top guy during the PG era, a time when the WWE quickly fell into pop culture irrelevancy and became a laughing stock. Even during his heyday, only half the crowd (at best) even liked Cena. The other half would boo him maliciously, and not because he was a heel doing heelish things, but simply because they didn't like him and wanted him gone. But at least Cena was a big deal for a long time.
I would rate them:
Hogan > Austin > Rock = Savage > power gap > Cena
